GoCardless processes the first agentic account-to-account payment in the UK

Bank payment company GoCardless has processed the first agentic account-to-account transaction in the UK, an AI-driven donation on its website for Trussell, the anti-poverty charity and community of food banks. “The pioneering transaction was completed end-to-end through a conversation with an AI agent, bringing simplicity and ease to the giving process whilst responding to market demand for the payer to stay in complete control.” – according to the press release.

The entire interaction lives within an AI chat: donors can find out more about Trussell’s work, then choose how much they’d like to give from a menu of options. Each donation amount — £5, £10, or £15 per month — comes with a description of how the funds will be used. Once the supporter selects their option, the AI agent prompts them to enter their bank details to set up a Direct Debit mandate on their behalf.

GoCardless developed and launched this agentic payment process within the FCA’s AI Live Testing programme — a scheme to support safe and responsible AI deployment — which the fintech was selected to join earlier this year. The UK government has identified agentic payments as a high priority and practical proxy for scaling AI safely in other emerging financial services use cases, whilst the National Payments Vision calls for account-to-account payments to become a genuine alternative to cards. From a global perspective, Morgan Stanley estimates AI agents could handle up to $385 billion of US e-commerce spending by 2030.

Hiroki Takeuchi, co-founder and CEO of GoCardless, said: “We’re extremely proud to have processed the UK’s first live agentic bank payment, built under FCA supervision and for a very good cause. The checkout flow is rooted in payer research: 64% of UK consumers are open to AI managing their recurring payments, provided they keep control over limits or final approval. Unlike cards, Direct Debit and Recurring Pay by Bank are specifically built for this.”

“We’ve long argued that account-to-account payments are the natural foundation for agentic commerce, and this groundbreaking transaction turns that core belief into tangible proof.”

Christianne McKenzie, Head of Individual Giving at Trussell, said: “Every recurring donation helps us reach more people in need. If agentic payments make it simpler for someone to commit to giving, that’s a genuine win for everyone as we work to end hunger together. What struck us most was how natural the whole process felt; the giving process is a conversation, not just a form to fill out. That’s exactly the kind of experience we want for our donors.”